Study Casts Doubt on Link Between Pornography and Labiaplasty

By Rosie Wilson

Australian researchers have challenged the notion that there is a link between pornography consumption and an increase in demand for ‘designer vaginas’.

Bethany Jones and Camille Nurka from the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra surveyed 1,083 women over Facebook, 85% of whom were Australian natives. The respondents were asked questions about pornography viewing habits and what the study described as ‘genital satisfaction’.

The study found that most of the women polled were content with the appearance of their vaginas, and the vast majority would not consider labiaplasty. Only 8.7% (93) of the participants indicated that they would be somewhat or very likely to consider a labiaplasty procedure.

The pair were motivated to conduct the research after an Australian medical website attributed the increase in labiaplasty solely to internet pornography.

“We looked very coarsely at women’s pornography consumption,” explained Ms. Jones. “We didn’t break it down, we just said overall porn consumption and asked them to rate their satisfaction with their genitals and whether they would be interested in pursuing labiaplasty.”

While the study did find a level of correlation between exposure to pornography and a willingness to consider labiaplasty, it also found there was no significant link between porn consumption and whether a woman was satisfied or dissatisfied with her vagina.